[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 113 (Wednesday, September 13, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING THE ST. PAUL PUBLIC SCHOOLS ON THEIR 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 13, 2006

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate 
the St. Paul Public Schools on their 150th anniversary. On the first 
day of this school year, more than 41,000 kindergarten through 12th 
graders entered one of the doors of the more than 70 schools staffed by 
more than 6,500 teachers and personnel in the St. Paul Public Schools. 
This school year marks 150 years of the district's commitment to 
educating the families of St. Paul and creating public spaces for civic 
and community engagement.
  St. Paul Public Schools have a proud history. Harriet Bishop, 
originally a teacher in Vermont, traveled to St. Paul in the late 1840s 
and is credited with starting the first public school in St. Paul. It 
was in 1856 that a school district was formed in St. Paul in order to 
attract settlers and to educate the frontier children. Even before 
Minnesota was admitted into the Union as a State, the people understood 
the importance of education.
  Over the past 150 years, the St. Paul Public Schools have created a 
``world of opportunities'' for their students, teachers, staff, and 
community members. And the world has also come to St. Paul Public 
Schools. More than 80 native languages are spoken in its classrooms. 
And each year, St. Paul elementary, middle, and high schools welcome a 
more diverse student body. And, this school year, the St. Paul Public 
Schools' Language Academies will teach English to 1,650 new Americans.
  As good stewards of public resources, St. Paul Public Schools are an 
integral part of our neighborhoods. They provide safe spaces for our 
children and youth to grow and learn where teachers and staff offer an 
enriched environment for students to develop into healthy, contributing 
adults. St. Paul Public Schools also provide the needed public 
community spaces to support a strong and engaged citizenry that is 
needed to support a strong democracy.
  In honor of the students, parents, families, and St. Paul Public 
Schools teachers and staff, I submit this statement for the official 
Congressional Record. I look forward to continued celebrations of 
success and milestones in the education of the people of St. Paul.

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